River Tubing

See Benny in the tube?

Today we did something we talked about all last summer:  We went tubing on the Coosawattee river.

We headed down to the general store (right across from the giant water slide, so naturally there was the usual heart-stopping moment of seeing if the slide was inflated and people were indeed on it) and signed up.   After a long (very long) delay in the hot, hot outdoors, we boarded the bus and were on our way.

It was fun, and very cool and quiet on the river.  The one thing that bothered me was how quickly we seperated.  For no apparant reason, some people drifted ahead very fast and some did not.  I was far at the end and the kids were far, far away.  I prayed nobody fell out of their tube and when in fact, Benny did fall out, I nearly broke my foot slamming into a rock in my haste to get to him.  But no fears, the water was shallow enough for him to stand and he climbed back into his tube happily.

Afterwards there was another hugely long wait for the bus to come get us, and the kids kept cool by paddling around the water. 

We came home hot and hungry and very muddy, but happy.  It was a great way to spend a summer afternoon. 

Great---but we all agreed, once is enough.

The water slide on the other hand, is still being praised and adored.  I suspect we'll be back there soon.

Vacation!

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted.  Guess we've been having a busy summer!!

And this past week has been the busiest one we will have all summer long, I am sure.  Marty and I went on vacation, and the boys went with Gram and Grandad on their vacation!

Marty and I started out planning a three day vacation to Arkansas, to go fishing on the White River.  That morphed into tacking on a trip to Kentucky at the end of the week because Marty was asked to photograph the NASCAR race there.  That left us with a couple of days in between the two events, which we decided to fill by sightseeing in Missouri!

First off, Arkansas:  HOT.  Steamy.  But what a nice place we stayed---Gaston's Fishing Resort.  Super duper wonderful, peaceful, quiet, and well oriented to non-fussy, non-fancy, first rate fishing. 

That's the dining room.

Saw this racoon through the dining room window.  She came to the back door and was given a loaf of bread by the cook.

We stayed in this cottage.

Had this lovely sitting area in the back, overlooking the water.

Lots of blue herons nesting along the treetops.

Fishing was fun.

We caught mostly rainbow tout, brown trout, cut-throat, and one brook trout.  We released everything back into the water.

We spent a night in Branson and happened to catch a fountain show at the outdoor mall.  It was hot and steamy in Missouri, too.  But I felt like a secret celebrity the whole time because my book is nominated for a state book award in Missouri!  (The Truman Award.)

We moved on to St. Louis the next day.  They have a beautiful baseball stadium, all done up in red.  Most of my pics did not come out, though, so I only have these two:

the view from our room.....

We got out in the evening when it cooled down a little.

A small Lewis and Clark museum in the entrance to the Arch. (The gateway to the West!)

And then, the arch itself.  You travel up it inside these little stony, egg shaped things,  pulled along by a chain.  It's claustrophobic-inducing.  Also, the egg-shaped pod and its rattling ascent feels like ancient Flinstones technology meets Aliens movie prop. 

The view from above!

We had a great time.  We went on to Kentucky the next day and I didn't take any more pictures the rest of the trip. (And actually most of these pics were taken by Marty.)  In Kentucky Marty photographed the NASCAR race and did a great job!

Then it was home to steamy Georgia.

Lots of fun and lots of activity.  Can't wait to hear all about the boy's vacation!

Nascar at Charlotte

This weekend we went to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the big Nascar race.  Marty went as  freelance photographer for a media company.  I went as a lowly spectator. (We tried to get me in as an assistant, but they are firm about that...no family members or friends under the guise of "assistant.")

It was a big opportunity for Marty and he was really looking forward to it.  The race is a big one and it's also a long one....six hundred miles!  (That is 400 laps, for those counting.)

There he is, loaded down and ready to walk all over the place for several hours...

And there's me.....

And there's the military.  They were out in droves in honor of Memorial Day.  The whole opening show was a salute to the military.

Happy to pose for a picture.....

We got to walk around on the track ahead of time and cruise pit row.  We saw several cars.

And you would not believe the amount of people there. Thousands.  I mean it.  Thousands.  The place was sold out and it was hot, hot, HOT outside.

Lots of drinking, lots of smoking, lots of everything you might imagine at a race.  It was an immersion into a whole sub-culture.  Even approaching the racetrack itself was a hoot....mile after mile of shanty towns....tents and more tents, RV's, campers, etc....hundreds and hundreds of people who drove in from all over the country, camping out in fields, barbequeing in the weeds, tailgating, hanging out and smoking, watching the cars drive by.  There were people all along the side of the road selling tickets, T-shirts, hot dogs, snacks and drinks.  It was HUGE.

There's also a whole inner world I do not understand. (And that's okay with me.)  For example, there are some drivers that are heavily adored.  Then there are some that are uniformly booed.  I don't know why, but that's how it is.

Fans tend to wear lots of gear advertising their favorite driver...shirts, hats, socks, beer can wraps...etc.  I saw at least two grown people walking around in pajama bottoms advertising their favorite car and driver.

Notice Marty on the right as we stroll pit row with the masses.

 

Marty in front of the Red Bull car.......

And here's the start of the race!

I'm so glad I got to go on the trip and be part of Marty's first big assignment.  He did an AWESOME job.  He took AMAZING photos. I wish I could post them here, but they are not our property.  Take my word for it, Marty knocked that first assignment out of the park!!

Big Water Slide

Yep, that's a BIG water slide.  So big it's going to be in the Guiness Book of World Records!!  And it's right here in our own backyard.

And today was the long anticipated day of finally getting to try it out.  That's Benny sliding down the slide.

Sam was right in there, too, of course.

That's him, running around to the back to run up the stairs again.

And what long stairs they are......

Anyway, fun was had.  And the boys wore themselves out sliding, running, climbing, and silding some more.  The only thing that stopped them, ninety minutes later, was a thunderstorm that ruined the fun for the rest of the day.  But we'll be back!

Summer Starts

We're two days into summer vacation, with about 85 or so more to go.  So far we have spent a fair amount of time riding in the car.......

because the need for running errands doesn't stop when school does, unfortunately.

We saw a movie yesterday.  (Shrek 4.)  Today we played video games at the bowling alley, the boys sprawled listlessly on couches while I worked out at the gym, then I took everyone to the rec center for some "shootin' hoops," as Sam says.

And of course, our mainstay of summer, the thing we spend ninety percent of our time doing from May to August; swimming.

If Sammy comes along and is willing to drag the boys around and be jumped on, all the better.

Now we're off for an end of the year soccer pizza party.

The lazy days have begun!